Internal Assessment on Stroop Effect

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Anandita Puri        Psychology SL  Internal Assessment


Table of Contents

Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..3

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………….4

Method……………………………………………………………………………………………………………6

Results……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..8

Discussion………………………………………………………………………………………………………..10

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………..11

References………………………………………………………………………………………………………..12

Appendices………………………………………………………………………………………………………..13


Abstract

Following the model of John Ridley Stroop’s test, this experiment compared the reaction times of reading words off a card and identifying the color they are printed in. The purpose of this investigation was to understand how conflicting stimuli influence the response. I predicted that such a stimulus would hinder the response, which in this case would mean that identifying the colors would take longer than reading the words. This experiment design was under controlled laboratory conditions, where the independent variable was the color card stimulus and the dependent was the reaction time. The participants were a randomly selected group of year 10 students at DIA. The results support the hypothesis, wherein the reaction time for distinguishing colors was in fact greater than simply reading the words. The implication of this to further studies is primarily to do with associations and how such associations alter responses to stimuli.


Introduction

        The cognitive approach of psychology applies the idea of mediation, which is a process or event within the individual which comes between a stimulus and response, when explaining behavior (Glassman and Hadad, 2009). An example of a mediator would be attention, which “is the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things” (Attention, 20 Mar 2009). It can be augmented or decreased depending on one’s surroundings; for example, trying to read a book while babysitting four children would be more difficult than doing homework in a closed quiet room. This is because there are other stimuli that need to be blocked out in order to focus on the book.

        Environment and learning also play crucial roles in our cognition of something. What we have been preconditioned to accept or understand will always dominate new or unfamiliar ideas (Engel-Andreasen, Michael).

        In 1894, Muller and Schumann discovered a theory known as “the law of associative inhibition”, which states that "if a is already connected with b, then it is difficult to connect it with k, b gets in the way." In this case, b acts as a mediator, wherein it affects the relation between a and k. This was deduced from the discovery that a greater amount of time was needed to relearn a set of ‘nonsense’ syllables if they had already been associated with other syllables. The previously learned associations have been conditioned into one’s mind and therefore relearning them requires breaking those relations. A similar study was conducted by Kline in 1921, however he investigated how associations between materials increase recollection of the material. For example, naming an author in order to remember a book or a city in order to remember a country (STUDIES OF INTERFERENCE IN SERIAL VERBAL REACTIONS).

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        In our partial replication of John Ridley Stroop’s experiment, these conflicting stimuli were investigated, and the outcome was later known as the Stroop Effect. This experiment compares the reaction time between reading out colors and identifying the ink in which they are written on a card. For the latter, the words act as mediators which come in the way of the recognition of colors the words are printed in. In other words, it requires identifying something other than what is indicated by the semantic meaning of the word.  With two conflicting stimuli, comparing the reaction times for both demonstrates which ...

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